Bengaluru: A novel synthetic antibody which will neutralise the venom of some of the deadliest snakes found in India, including the cobra, king cobra, krait, and black mamba, has been developed by scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru in collaboration with Scripps Research Institute, US. Apart from India, these snakes are found throughout the Asia, Africa and Australia.
The team of scientists used a unique approach to screen the antibodies in the vaccine development of severe diseases such as AIDS and Covid-19 to synthesise the new venom-neutralising antibody.
“This is the first time that this particular strategy is being applied to develop antibodies for snakebite treatment,” said Senji Laxme R.R., doctoral student at Evolutionary Venomics Lab (EVL), IISC.
